Maddie and Trevor read Dustbin Stories, by TheLeherengin

I'm lying in the tub, soothed by the hot water--rubbing some cream into the skin beneath my collar to help with the chafing--when Trevor comes barging through the bathroom door. Instantly, I push myself up to a sitting position.

"Anything I can help you with, master?" I ask carefully.

"What?" he says, then shakes his head. "No, nothing like that. Not yet, anyway." He waves his tablet around. "We agreed that I could choose the next story, and now I have!"

"...? Oh, right. Those reviews. So what did you pick?"

He shoves the tablet under my nose. "This one...Dustbin Stories, by TheLeherengin."

"Uh huh," I say, scanning through the first chapter. "Any reason why?"

"A couple. I saw that it was under the Power Play category, just like your story. Also, it's a proper Choose Your Own Adventure, with a game mode and everything! It'll let us decide how things progress."

"That does sound like fun..." I respond distractedly. I'm still reading the introduction. "So it says here that everything takes place in the city of Arboria, also called Dustbin. Apparently, it's openly run by criminals. I...don't see how that would work. The police are criminals and the mayor, too? Why hasn't an outside force intervened, like the FBI or the military?"

"It doesn't say the story takes place in the U.S.," Trevor points out. "Maybe it's set in Italy, and all the character names have been Anglicized or something. In any case, your reading comprehension is shit, Maddie. Didn't you see the penultimate paragraph? The criminals keep anyone from leaving the city and revealing its corruption."

"That's even worse! An incredibly unstable equilibrium! How long has this been happening? A week? Two? What, do they have roadblocks everywhere? All it would take is one out-of-town car showing up, or an external family member or friend getting worried, and the jig is up!"

Trevor shrugs his shoulders. "I don't know what to tell you. Not every story has to be hyper-realistic. And I'm pretty sure this place operates on superhero comic book rules. Think Gotham."

"Alright, alright," I grumble. "Well, let's get started then."

READING IN PROGRESS (BGM)

...RECORD SCRATCH

"Actually, hold up," says Trevor. "Since this is a CYOA, why don't we commentate our choices in real time? And we can express our immediate reactions. Let's alternate who picks, and go through three branches until we hit their end."

"And the review part of this?"

"Well, we can certainly share some final thoughts once we're done... Why don't you go first?"

"Sure. I pick Ruby."

"Alright, a completely normal person, if anyone in this city can be called 'normal'. Apparently, we're squatting in our parents' apartment after they were both killed--or 'disappeared', at least. And we have to go to work. Let's take the stairs--better the possibility of danger than the certainty of it."

"Seems like that was prudent. We're now at the post office. I guess we're a delivery girl. We can do the risky job or the safe one. Let's continue to be cautious."

"Sure, and also not look inside the package. Why would we even think to do that?"

"Or stick around at a party. Surely we're on the clock?"

"We go back to the office to find our boss beat up. Then back home. And...that's it?" Trevor sounds incredulous. "It just ends. Our money counter didn't even tick up even though our boss said he paid us for the job."

"The story's still a work in progress. I think you'll find most stories on this site are. We were fortunate that the first story we reviewed just happened to be finished."

"Okay... Well, that was...straightforward. We both went with the safe options, and maybe those were a little too telegraphed. It was easy to sidestep trouble. I guess next time we should force our poor protagonist into facing more peril."

SECOND PATH INCOMING

"Trevor, why don't you pick first this time?"

"Let's stay with Ruby, see what else she has to offer."

"Okay, well, let's go with the elevator instead."

"Uhh... Should we take the drug? There's putting the character in peril, and then there's just being plain stupid. Sorry, I have to refuse."

"Now we're on the elevator, and the other passenger has started groping us. Hell, yeah, let's lash out!"

"And...we earn ourselves a brutal ass-fucking." Trevor's head snaps up at the soft gasp I make. One of my hands is lazily circling my clit, making ripples in the water. The other pinches my nipple, hard. "Really, Maddie? This does it for you? After Aidan and the Faulkners and...everything else?"

"I know!" I moan. "I'm so fucked in the head... But so are you!" I point at the growing bulge beneath his boxers.

"That's from watching you!" he retorts, but he doesn't sound entirely convinced himself. "Anyway, we continue to work and the path joins back up with our initial branch. We'll take the risky job this time."

"The story makes it clear several times that we're walking into extreme danger. In that case, it might actually be the wiser choice to see what it is we're carrying."

"It's a photo of Lilah, apparently someone who'd very much like to have their identity remain hidden. We contemplate giving it to a third party--which would be an even worse risk--but that's not an actual option. We'll just try to complete the original drop-off."

"The woman from the photo intercepts us. Let's go with the option where we recognize her."

"Oh-o!" says Trevor. "Good idea looking in the package earlier. Now we've got some options. Why don't we blackmail her? I'm sure nothing bad will come from that..."

"Well, she certainly acts like we've gotten the leverage over her. I think it'd be nice to have Lilah at our beck and call."

"For a mastermind criminal and thief, she sure gives in easily. I'm...skeptical." Trevor shakes his head. "Whatever. We go back to the post office. This time, our boss is straight-up murdered, and we don't get any money at all. And...another dead end."

"That was more exciting! Rape, blackmail, a high stakes mission!"

"Yeah..." Trevor looks glum. "But it still didn't go anywhere. Third time's the charm?"

THIRD PATH INCOMING

"Why don't we try another character instead?" I suggest. "How about Emily?"

"6'4? Holy crap, we're tall! Uh, so we're a new cop on this corrupt police force, and the first thing to establish is our motivation. I want to go full evil! Pursuit of money and power."

"We're paired up with a partner, who orders us to execute another cop who was too clean. You know what, Trevor? I'll respect your deep desire for evil. No hesitation!"

"It was a bit of a trick, but now we've passed this fucked-up initiation and get some real bullets. We're introduced to a bunch of characters at once, more than I care to try to remember. Hopefully, it won't matter... And, indeed, we don't get a partner. Instead we're made a police assassin. I suppose that wouldn't have happened if you'd made a different choice before. As for targets...Der Meister sounds interesting."

"He's a serial killer who exclusively preys on young women like Emily. And he likes to play games. Let's investigate by checking out the woman who survived the attempted abduction."

"This woman is sus as hell. Fancy new house. Rude. Might not be related to the killer though. Regardless, I'm going to keep pressing her for information."

"Our persistence pays off! The woman finally tells us that she's spotted the killer hanging around outside her home. She promises to contact us the next time it happens. The narrative suggests she might actually be lying, but it's the only lead we have. I guess there's nothing for it... Oh, there's literally nothing for it. That's the end."

"Goddammit!" says Trevor.

"Well, that was definitely the most exciting and involved path of the three. Longer chapters, and--dare I say--better written ones, too."

"Yeah...I guess...I just was expecting at least one of these paths to go somewhere."

"Like I said, most stories on this site are incomplete. And it's not exactly a shocker for this one, given the sheer ambition of offering so many paths. What we did get was plenty exciting, especially that last one. I'd say we should pick this up another time to see what happens, but...well, it doesn't look like the story's been touched in some time."

"Damn!"

"Now, now," I say, patting Trevor on the shoulder with my wet hand. "We'll always have that ass-fucking scene. At least you delivered--you know, on your promise to make my pussy wet."

He raises an eyebrow, regarding the tepid bathwater I'm still sitting in. I hit him in the arm. "You know what I mean! And it got you hard, too."

"I...No?"

"Oh, really?" I say playfully. "You mean you wouldn't be up for a little reenactment?"

"Well..."